Feels Like Ishq is different from your usual romantic Bollywood films. Unlike most, it presents love in our surroundings in the most subtle ways. You will not find actors running around a tree or a hero trying to prove his love to the world. What you will find is feelings of love in moments of everyday life.
The anthology’s first story features Radhika Madan and Amol Parashar coming together in Ruchir Arun’s Save the Da(y)te.
In a journey to find her best friend, who is a runaway bride, Radhika Madan’s character has few moments of exchanging pleasantries with the wedding planner of her best friend, played by Amol Parasher, who does not believe in marriages. While nothing happens between them, the moments they spend together create beautiful energy on screen like no other.
This is followed by Quaranteen Crush of Tahira Kashyap, which will take you back to your teenage days and remind you of your juvenile love story.
A young boy, while giving his eleventh boards, develops feelings for his NRI neighbour who is quarantining in her grandparent’s house in Punjab. The scenes are aesthetic. The young boy’s feelings can be felt in every moment of the story. Background sound compliments the heartfelt tale of his first love.
Rohit Saraf and Simran Jehani’s performance in Star Host is magic but familiar.
Two young adults meet unexpectedly. They are opposites and do not get long. But, as they spend time together and discover each other, things happen. What is unfamiliar is the ending, which is unusually very pleasant to the eyes and ears.
But the most lovable of them all is Sachin Kundalkar’s The Interview, showcasing the life struggle of the working class in a very subtle manner.
Shahana and Rajeev meet each other while they are waiting to give an interview for a job in an electronic store. Shahana is a confident and self-assured person, while Rajeev is underconfident and does not speak Hindi. To Shahana, Rajeev represents her late husband, who could not secure a job for himself and died by suicide as a result of feeling like a failure.
This story is the warmest. It’s heart-breaking and presents itself with a gamut of emotions regarding romance, friendship, successes and failures one faces in life.
The most stunning in this story is the performance of Neeraj Madhav. He has effortlessly projected himself as a small-town boy. His performance is complemented well with background music and camera angles and the chemistry of his partner Shahana played by Zayn Khan.
But the story that is the most path-breaking is of the two gay women. Without talking about their struggle of being queer in a society like ours, the story normalises gay relationships between these two women working together in an advertising agency. It looks naïve but is pleasing.
The anthology is shot in a manner that you will feel warmth and breeziness in your heart. It is full of charm, grace and artistry. It’s adorable in moments and a delight for your mood. Likewise, it’s enchanting and captivating.
I am going with three out of five stars for slice of life juvenile love stories of Feels like Ishq. It’s a must-watch.